The Night Circus

Have you ever imagined something so fantastic, amazing or just plain beautiful that you could get lost in it for hours? You have? Maybe you have visited 'The Night Circus'. At times this book was like having a piece of heavenly dark chocolate and letting it just melt in your mouth, with your tongue absorbing the richness and bitterness before sliding down your throat. A wonderful experience yet something that could get quite sickly over time.

'The Night Circus' is a theatrical extravaganza which only opens at night. Tents and exhibits are available for customers to dip into, experience, get lost, be astounded. All the senses are enlightened and from contortionists to carousels there is plenty to experience for all visitors with a cauldron of burning white flame being the centre of the Circus. The colour scheme is purely black and white and the Circus truly is a wonder of the world as the 20th Century hurtles towards the patrons. If it seems like magic, that's because it is...

I just love the Circus itself. As a reading experience I can get lost in Morgenstern's prose. I love her descriptions of the acts, everything is beautifully painted and stylishly coloured. When reading about the characters and the setting I truly felt I was experiencing something dreamy and luxurious and somewhere I could get lost for hours. And as that is a large part of what makes the Circus special I feel the author really helps us and takes us along for the ride. It's been a while since I have read something where I felt I was experiencing for the first time what the visitors to the spectacle were. For that I just have to commend and thank Morgenstern for letting me join in.

Of course there is more to the Circus. It is more than a spectacle, it's a battleground for two magicians, in a game they neither understand, nor want to be in. It becomes something quite beautiful and collaborative before becoming bigger and something altogether more sinister.

I really appreciated the turn in events, what was a wonderful journey into the fantastic became something that one was inexorably drawn to and difficult to escape, even if one wanted to. The dream becomes a nightmare, when the participants are drawn into ever more complex webs of wonderment one considers whether they are real or not or even if what is being read is actually happening. This was fun, as you could see the tone of the novel turning, teetering on the cusp of a bad acid trip before one loses their mind. I like it!

The characters are pretty well drawn and largely very likeable. There is a very Victorian sensibility and a Steampunk vibe (if we had spells instead of clockwork). Talking of clocks, I dare one not to be impressed with the centrepiece of the Circus - a wonderful clock that encapsulates what the Circus is.

Celia (one of the main protaganists) seems a delightful woman, I really warmed to her quickly. The architects of the Circus are fully developed as are the Circus groupies! However special praise should be given to the wonderful Poppet and Widget - twins born in the Circus on the opening night. I rarely care about children in books, especially when I feel my heartstrings are being unceremoniously tugged but they are quite simply the most adoring children / young adults I have read in a long while.

Whilst this is a wonderful reading experience, this is more than a book about a Circus and magic. It's also a love story and it works for what it is. In terms of plot and depth there isn't much more to the novel and this is what prevents this being a great book. I feel quite stingy with three stars but as fun as it was to read I think it was more of an experience rather than an intriguing novel.